Turkish soldiers repel attempted Islamic State attack in northern Iraq

Ankara: Turkish troops repelled an attempted attack by Islamic State militants on a military base in northern Iraq where Turkish soldiers are training an Iraqi militia, Turkish military sources told Reuters on Friday.

The sources said that local sources had told them 17 Islamic State militants were killed as the attack on the Bashiqa camp in Nineveh province was repelled.

Turkey deployed a force protection unit of around 150 troops earlier last month citing heightened security risks near Bashiqa, where its troops are training the Iraqi militia to fight Islamic State. The deployment sparked a diplomatic row.